Autumn Reading List

Autumn: the season of campfires, pumpkins, and sweaters. It is a time for cozying up in bed with a good book or settling down with popcorn to watch a scary movie. Summer fades into world of Halloween, schoolwork, and spices. The heat will linger until the first fall chill chases it away for the rest of the year. Personally, I love autumn. I cannot wait to enjoy a good s'more and bake some pumpkin cupcakes. As usual, I am sharing a short list of books I hope to read this season. With my university work I never know when I will have time for reading but I still try to make it a priority when I can. 

the haunting of ashburn house 

What a great time of year to read a horror novel. Other than Stephen King, I have a difficult time finding scary books. On a recent visit to the bookstore I found an entire shelf of supernatural books by this author and became ecstatic. Finally, I had found a cache of ghost books to read. Hopefully this one will impress me. The Haunting of Ashburn House is set in a haunted house (my favorite) and follows its newest inheritor, Adrienne. Due to financial struggles, she decides to move into Ashburn house. Although she does not believe in ghosts, the strange and threatening events that occur in the home may change her point of view. 

starsight 

Starsight is a holdover from my summer reading list, one I did not manage to get to but still very much want to read soon. This Brandon Sanderson novel is the sequel to his YA science fiction series, Skyward. I read and adored the first novel back in the springtime and have been itching to pick up the next volume ever since. Skyward follows a young girl named Spensa that dreams of becoming a pilot to defend her people and planet from an antagonistic race of aliens. However, she is the daughter of a traitor and her family has been branded as cowards ever since. To make it as a pilot and prove herself, as well as clear her father's name, she will have to fight. It is action-packed and has a rich fictional world. 

the huntress

I have been eyeing this novel since its release in 2019. Recently, I found it for six dollars (yes, you read that correctly) in Barnes & Noble and could not resist picking it up. The Huntress shows the aftermath of WWII by following three different characters. Nina Markova, a Soviet Union woman, joins a fleet of all-female bomber pilots and soon finds herself stranded behind enemy lines. The infamous Huntress, a Nazi assassin, is intent on killing her. Ian Graham is a British war correspondent turned Nazi hunter. He has made it his goal to capture the Huntress and punish her for her crimes. Finally, American teen Jordan McBride has set her sights on becoming a photographer when her father returns home with a German fiance in tow. But Jordan does not trust her new stepmother. 

harrow the ninth

Here is another Summer holdover. Harrow the Ninth, the anticipated sequel to Gideon the Ninth, only released on August fourth. I cannot wait to delve into this world again. Gideon the Ninth will certainly be on my 2020 favorites list, as well as my all-time favorites list at that. The first book followed Gideon, a warrior and member of the ninth house of necromancy. She wants nothing more than to escape a life of skeletons, secrets, and the haughty heir to the Ninth House, Harrow. After squandering Gideon's escape attempts, Harrow promises her freedom in exchange for acting as her cavalier in a new quest. The Emperor, the legendary leader of the nine houses, has called all the heirs together to play a dangerous game of wit and daring. Whoever wins will ascend to immortality and become a servant of the Emperor and bask in glory for eternity. 

the city of brass

I purchased The City of Brass last Summer on a trip to Portland. It has been sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust ever since, which is a right shame. I have heard nothing but amazing things about this Middle Eastern-inspired high fantasy novel. The story centers around Nahri, a con woman on the streets of 18th century Cairo. She does not believe in magic--not at first. But when she accidentally summons a djinn warrior, she must accept that magic is indeed very real. Together they set on a quest to find the fabled City of Brass that holds the six djinn tribes. However, dangerous enchantments and a cutthroat court await them in the city. Can Nahri make it out alive? 

What is on your autumn reading list?